479th Friday Blog Roundup
I hate it when brands stop selling a product (or create a “new” and “improved” version that may be new but is certainly not improved, but that is a different story). My latest ire is for Vaseline over the discontinuation of their Deep Moisture Creamy Formula. It was one of the greatest hand lotions of all time. I bought it for friends, I stashed tubes of it in a multitude of places. It was a beautiful, beautiful, well-made product.
And then it started getting harder to find.
Then it returned, watery and smelling foul, and I went online to discover that everyone else was also repulsed by this new version of the lotion (which, by the way, was not packaged differently). And now it’s gone altogether. No more Vaseline Deep Moisture Creamy Formula. Thanks a lot, Vaseline, for nothing.
I am very particular about my lotions because they have to be unscented. And a certain consistency. And obviously also work to relieve dry skin. Like I could never be like “Offred” in the Handmaid’s Tale and smear butter on myself. I mean, yes, the reproductive health of women is horrifying in that book, but so is the keeping of rancid butter in a shoe.
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On the other hand, I love Bluehost. If you’ve ever considered self-hosting your blog, I cannot recommend them enough. This week, I had malware on my site. It infected a ton of files, and it was beyond my capabilities at the moment to deal with it. I was on the phone with tech support — by the way, every time I call, I rarely wait more than 30 seconds for help AND the people are completely patient with me and my inane questions — and the guy started cleaning up my account for me. He walked me through a few things on my end while he took care of other things on his end, and within 15 minutes, we had the site neat and functioning.
I love them. I love how accessible they are. I love how much they’re willing to jump in and help. I love how it’s a rare occurrence that I ever need to call for help because they keep things running smoothly.
Thank you, Bluehost.
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I started up yoga again since hurting my back. I’ve been doing it every morning. I can feel a weird pinching sensation in my arm when I do certain stretches, but other than that, it doesn’t bother my back.
The problem is that I have lost all my upper body strength. I went to do a chatarunga. I was fine in plank, but when I started lowering myself, my right arm gave out. I used to be able to lower myself slowly with control. Now I sort of flop over after lingering in plank as long as possible. My arms were stronger than this when I first started to do yoga years ago, so it feels odd to not be able to do this simple movement anymore. I wonder how long it will take to see a difference; to be able to lower myself gently again.
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And now the blogs…
But first, second helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:
- “You and Your Damn Babies” (Grounded Parents)
- “Abortion Rhetoric from the Perspective of a ‘Miracle Baby’ Mom” (Grounded Parents)
- “The Bitch is (Sort of) Back” (Work is for Suckers)
- “A Crossroad” (The Stroller Coaster)
- “What it is” (Remission Statement)
- “Just Be Nice” (Band Back Together)
Okay, now my choices this week.
Me vs. Infertility has a post about a sign she always sees at work with the words “BFP Test Outlet.” Obviously the words mean something different in this context, but they can’t help but make her think about the beta at the end of her IVF cycle. She admits, “I’ve never seen a positive pregnancy test. But I’ve wondered what will happen when I do.” The post is a good reminder that two people can see the exact same thing but take away very different meanings.
Stupid Broken Eggs has a post about her upcoming transfer. I like it because it’s a good, everyday post giving the outsider insight into the world of fertility treatments. The sort of post I like to forward to someone when they say, “oh, you can always do IVF” as their answer to every fertility issue without truly knowing what IVF entails. But I especially love this post because she takes back some control from an out-of-control experience, setting firm limits on the passing of information. She explains, “A lot gets taken away during IF. So I plan to treat our transfer just like the special private (as private as I can make it) moment it can be.”
A little late with this (but I read it after the last Roundup was written) but Veggie Sausages has a post twisting the concept of #momfail and explaining what looks like failure is actually a step towards success. She writes, “You are not failing because you are always thinking you could do better. You are always seeking to improve your practice to do right by the tiny people who live in your house. I have a distinct feeling that bad mothers don’t feel bad.” It’s a rallying cry for anyone who thinks they’re doing less than their best today.
Lastly, Birds, Bees, and Medicine has a post about applying the relaxation techniques she teaches to herself. It’s not that she doesn’t feel anxiety; she just knows how to hold it and then set it aside so it doesn’t eat her alive. And I love, love, love the end of this post. That whole last paragraph.
The roundup to the Roundup: Thanks for nothing, Vaseline. Bluehost, you rock. Yoga is hard after a back injury. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between January 24th and January 31st) and not the blog’s main url. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week? Read the original open thread post here.
19 comments
Regarding the lotion, you might try “St. Ives Intensive Healing” if you haven’t already. It is frangrance-, paraben-, and phithalate- free. All that and it still has a creamy texture & seems to work pretty well. Hope that helps!
Pantene did that with the shampoo I’d been using for years. Not cool. I’m picky about hand lotion as well, mostly b/c I have super sensitive skin and most lotions seem to break my face out (because I apparently touch my face a lot, or something). Anyway, the only kind I use is the fragrance-free Mary Kay Satin Hands.
I second Beth on the St. Ives Intensive Healing. And I feel your pain on the upper body strength issue- I’m just back at the gym after my two bouts of pneumonia, and I can’t believe how tough it is to come back. I feel like I should be able to do all the stuff I could do before, and I just can’t. I have to believe that the body will remember, and we’ll be back to our old selves fairly quickly. It really is disheartening, though.
We mostly use Gold Bond lotions. Have you ever considered making your own though? I made some hand scrub with coconut oil and it leaves my hands super soft with no real scent. I’ve found several lotion recipes using it, so it’s on my project list to try.
Atopalm if it is sold in USA.
This. Post.
http://mrsspit.ca/?p=4822
Also: I love neutrogena’s hand cream. Fragrance free… And it really works. Love love love.
Karen/Serenity beat me to it. Amazingly gorgeous post by Mrs. Spit. 🙂
I dislike the altogether discontinuation of products I love but dislike even more the ‘new and improved’ versions of tried and true products. I hope you find a suitable replacement.
I don’t like it when they screw with products either. Boo
I admit I’m happy to hear you’re back to yoga. Are you using your knees for chaturangas until you build back your upper body strength?
I hope your back is doing a lot better.
This post hit me really hard. It’s about having to choose between the dream of a child and other dreams without any guaranty.
http://inconceivable12.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/stuck/
Oh, I hear you on the discontinued (or dramatically altered) product front. It’s happened to me more times than I care to think about. Like Serenity, I use a lot of Neutrogena products — the body lotion & hand cream, and I love their clarifying shampoo, which I have used for years & years — although it has been getting harder to find lately too (I also used to use the matching conditioner, but I haven’t seen that in YEARS). :p
As for second helpings — I liked this post from Sharah, about blogging (or not blogging) after baby:
http://sharah.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/write-for-me/
Brooke talks about trauma, invoking some vivid memories along the way:
http://bythebrooke.blogspot.ca/2014/01/the-grief-and-trauma.html
An adoption goodie this week: http://chittisterchildren.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/when-do-you-know-its-your-baby/#comment-2788
And this – as usual, Miss C is here to help us through. http://missconception-ads.blogspot.com/2014/01/surviving-babyloss.html
I am a shameless self promoter but I am ready to share my new blog. Its only 5 days old and Melissa gave me some good advice on how to begin.
My favorite post so far is “Addicted to IVF” where I talk about the envy I felt when visiting my Mom in the hospital this week.
http://laughterthroughtearsblog.com/2014/01/29/addicted-to-ivf/
I’m so worried about May of Nuts in May. I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about her. If someone could just reassure us that nothing truly horrendous has happened, I’d be very grateful. Thank you.
I too hope that all is well (relatively speaking) with May. 🙁
Ugh! I too hate it when companies change perfectly fine products or re-brand things. I still think of how Nalley changed their pickle label and it threw me off for a time. Pickles are totally important! Even more important is hand lotion, especially in the winter. I am looking for a new one as well, without sent and not to greasy (leaving a residual on my hands). Because of scent, I’ve had to ask several co-workers to not wear their lotions/perfumes because it causes me to feel sick and get a headache. 🙁
http://waitingforbabybird.com/2014/02/05/why-she-got-a-baby/
A blog post about going from all the crazy questions of Why her? Why not us? Why all the suffering? Why the PCOS…to “God, whatcha doin?” Is God doing anything?